


A Personal Robotics Project

by orphan_account



Series: The Daily Shenanigans of Voltron [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Comfort, Gen, Head Injury, Hospitalization, Humor, Klance if you squint, Robot Feels, Robotics, Robots, Roombas, Sassy Robot, Swearing, Trans Male Pidge | Katie Holt, shidge and hidge if you squint
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-13 07:31:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7967911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Everyone starts arguing over chores, so Pidge and Hunk decide to make robots to do said chores. There are mixed results.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Part of The Daily Shenanigans of Voltorn series where the Paladins are in college. Each fic in the series may have different ratings depending on the content. Enjoy!

Standing in the middle of their living room, six college students argue over chores. It was late evening, after class, and instead of eating dinner or enjoying themselves, they're instead having a very heated debate.

"There is no way I'm doing the dishes! None! I did them last week!" Lance said, crossing his arms in a stiff posture.

"You did not! Pidge did!" Keith said, pointing over at the smallest one.

"Where's your proof?" Lance replied. Keith gave him a furious look.

"Everyone knows he did them! I took out the trash, Hunk cooked, Shiro did laundry, Allura swept and moped, and you were supposed to vacuum," Keith explained.

"You didn't even do that," Allura adds. Lance could see that everyone was ganging up on him. He had to act fast.

"Maybe! But you're just saying that so you don't have to do them!" he accused, jabbing a finger in Keith's direction.

"Guys, we can figure this out in a passive manner-" Shiro began, but was interrupted by Keith.

"Fuck you, Lance! I'll do the dishes if it's my turn!"

"Then why don't you do them?"

"Because it's not my turn!"

While the two boys were arguing, Hunk turned to Pidge, an idea forming in his mind.

"Hey, Pidge, I have an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Well, our engineering class has been accepting extra credit, so why not make some robots to help out around the house?" Hunk suggested.

Pidge's eyes widened and he adjusted his glasses. "That sounds like a good idea!"

"What does, Pidge?" Allura cut in, her voice sudden enough to cut off Keith and Lance.

"Hunk had the idea of making robots to help with the chores," Pidge said.

"That sounds great! I don't have to do anything then!" Lance said, grinning. Pidge rolled his eyes.

"You'll still have to maintain your room, Lance," he reminded the other.

"I'm not sure if this is the best idea. What kind of RA would I be if I supported you all shirking your responsibilities?" Allura said, a hand on her chin in thought.

"It'll help us get extra credit in our engineering class," Pidge said.

"Like you need it," Keith muttered. Lance elbowed him hard and Keith shoved him. Shiro gave them a stern glance, and they separated, grumbling to themselves.

Allura sighed, then relented. "Alright. I don't see the harm in it. If anything happens, however, this project is done."

"Yes, ma'am!" Hunk and Pidge said at the same time, smiling at each other afterward. They had a lot of fun work cut out for them.

A week later, they had one prototype ready to be tested, and two others in the making. The robot, named Rover, was a small Roomba.

"What is that thing's job again?" Lance asked as Pidge carried it to the kitchen.

" _Rover's_ job is to clean carpet and hard floors. I'm currently testing them on the hard floor," Pidge replied, setting it down in the middle of the room.

"Them? It's not alive, Pidge," Lance said after Pidge turned it on.

Rover stayed still for a second, then made a little chorus of beeping noises before turning and heading towards Lance.

"Uh, did it hear me?" Lance asked, taking an uneasy step back. "You didn't program this thing to kill, did you?"

"Oh yes. I equipped it with razors and knives just for you," Pidge replied, rolling his eyes. Lance sent him a quick glare, and then Rover was right in front of him.

Lance stared at them in silence. Rover wasn't moving. Then, the Roomba let out another melody of beeping noises and squirted Lance in the face with water. Lance let out a yelp, wiping at his eyes.

Pidge laughed. "Don't insult my robots, Lance."

"Yeah, yeah," Lance muttered and left to go dry his face. Rover turned and began cleaning the floor. Pidge patted the top of them affectionately.


	2. Chapter 2

Since Rover was working perfectly fine, Pidge and Hunk went and finished up their next robot. It was tall, bipedal, and human-like, aside from having a motionless faceplate and metallic skin. Pidge and Hunk carried them out into the kitchen where everyone else was waiting. Their eyes widened.

"Whoa! Who is this guy?" Shiro asked, a wide smile on his face.

"Everyone, meet Dial. They're our new dish washer," Pidge introduced the robot as Hunk set them up and gave them one more check up.

Once he was satisfied, he turned on Dial by pressing the back of their neck. Dial's eyes flickered on, glowing yellow. They blinked and looked around.

"Hello, Dial," Allura said, and everyone else waved.

"Hello," Dial's voice sounded synthetic and they raised their arm to perform a stiff wave. Pidge and Hunk were grinning.

"Empty the dishwasher, Dial," Pidge ordered. Dial blinked then turned and headed to the appliance.

"That's amazing," Keith whispered, and Pidge gave Hunk a high five.

Dial opened the dishwasher and pulled out the bottom drawer. They piled dishes onto their arms and straightened up. Then they stood still.

"Huh, that's weird. His eyes are still on..." Hunk said, furrowing his eyebrows together. Pidge frowned.

"Oh, I know what to do when electronics don't cooperate," Lance said as he strode over to Dial.

Pidge and Hunk began to voice their concerns, but before they could stop him, Lance kicked Dial in the shin. Silence filled the room. Nothing happened for a few seconds.

Then a whirring noise sounded from Dial as they turned and threw a plate at Lance. It shattered on his head and he fell to the floor, unconscious and bleeding.

The kitchen erupted into chaos. Allura started screaming, Hunk and Pidge raced over to Dial, and Keith and Shiro knelt down besides Lance. They all were speaking very quickly and panicked.

Dial, overwhelmed by all the commotion, shoved Hunk away with their free hand. Hunk stumbled backward but caught himself against the wall. Pidge ducked as Dial threw another plate over his head, smashing into the wall behind him. Shiro quickly got up and flipped the table on its side.

"Everyone get behind cover!" he yelled. Everyone immediately moved behind the table except Keith, who was dragging Lance.

Dial started to whir even louder now, and they threw a plate aimed at Keith. Allura reached out and yanked him backwards, his head narrowly missing the projectile. She then helped him drag Lance behind the table.

"Pidge! Hunk! Stop this now!" Allura ordered, her eyes furious yet fearful. Pidge and Hunk glanced at each other.

"We can't get close enough to manually shut them down," Pidge replied, his voice wavering slightly as two plates flew above their heads.

"Well we need to do something before they break all the dishes!" Keith said.

Everyone was silent for a moment. The only sounds that could be heard was the constant whirring of Dial and the dishes, bowls, and silverware being thrown against the wall.

"I'll distract the robot. One of you deactivate them," Shiro said. Everyone glanced at him in surprise.

"It's dangerous, Shiro," Allura warned.

"It's a risk I'm willing to take," he replied.

"We could wait until Dial runs out of dishes," Hunk suggested.

"No. What if they move onto other things? I don't want our microwave getting ruined," Shiro said. Hunk fell silent.

"Alright, I'm going in three... two... one," at 'one', Shiro leaped over the table and dashed across the kitchen in a zigzag. The distraction worked, and Dial focused on throwing things at Shiro, barely missing him.

Immediately, Pidge ran around the table and was able to reach Dial in a few quick strides before they could react. Pidge shoved Dial to the side, throwing the robot off balance, and pressed hard against the button on their neck.

Dial's eyes shut off and they fell to the ground, the dishes in their arms spilling onto the floor.

Pidge leaned against the counter, panting, and everyone except Keith and Lance came out from behind the table.

"I'm glad that's over with," Hunk sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Hey. I hate to ruin the after party, but we need to take Lance to a doctor," Keith spoke up from behind the table.

"You're right. Let's take him," Shiro said, going behind the table and helping Keith carry Lance out of the kitchen. The others followed close behind.


	3. Chapter 3

After an hour in the hospital, Lance woke up. After his vision cleared, he saw Keith, Allura, and Hunk sitting in a row of chairs against the wall beside the bed. Pidge was standing and looking out the window, and Shiro was leaning against the wall next to the door.

Lance shifted a little, remembering the aching pain in his head. Keith looked up. When he saw Lance looking confused, his eyes widened and he immediately stood up.

"Lance! Are you okay?" he asked, quickly walking over to his side. Immediately, everyone drew closer and started speaking. Lance grimaced.

"Alright everyone, back off. Lance could have a concussion," Shiro said, walking forward and pushing everyone back. He turned to Lance and spoke in a low voice.

"Do you remember why you're in the hospital?"

A frown tugged at the corners of Lance's mouth. After a moment of thinking, recognition crossed his features.

"Oh yeah! I kicked a robot and they went school shooter on me."

"Lance," Shiro said in an unamused tone, but there was relief in his eyes.

"Why would you kick them!?" Keith asked, his voice slightly raised. "You made everyone worried sick! You could've died!"

Lance rolled his eyes. "I didn't know Dial would've went complete psycho like that... Are you guys okay?"

"You're the one in the hospital, dumbass," Pidge answered, a small grin on his face.

"Speaking of the robot," Allura spoke up, "you need to shut down this program of yours."

"What!?" both Hunk and Pidge yelped, staring wide eyed at Allura.

"I told you if any incidents happened you would have to shut it down. Right now, Lance most likely has at least a mild concussion. An incident happened, so I'm pulling the plug," she explained.

"You can't do that!" Pidge replied.

"I'm you're RA. I, in fact, can."

"It was a minor hiccup!"

"Minor hiccup? _Minor_ hiccup!? Because of your homicidal bot, one of us is in the hospital! You should be grateful Lance isn't dead! I'm supposed to prevent accidents from happening, or stop what caused them before they hurt someone else. Your faulty programming skills could've cost us a _life_ , Pidge. That is more important than your lifeless creations!"

Pidge stared at Allura, wide eyed. Silence filled the room. Pidge glared at Allura, turned swiftly, and stormed out, slamming the door behind him.

"I'll go after him," Hunk and Shiro said at the same time. They both exchanged an amused glance and then walked out, Shiro holding the door open for Hunk.

"I lost my cool. I'll need to apologize to Pidge," Allura spoke quietly, full of regret. "But I'm not backing down from my decision."

"Allura," Lance said. She and Keith turned to look at him.

"It was my fault Dial attacked. I shouldn't of done that. Don't punish Pidge and Hunk for my mistake."

"They _hurt_ you, Lance. I can't let that slide," she said.

"Let them try one more time, Allura. This won't happen again, and you know it. Pidge and Hunk will definitely be more cautious now."

Allura was silent. After a minute of contemplation, she turned to Keith.

"I'm not a fan of this, but if you agree with Lance, I'll _consider_ changing my mind."

Keith chewed on his lip, glancing between Allura and Lance. He rolled his eyes when he saw Lance's puppy dog eyes.

"I don't like my friends getting hurt, but-" he was cut off by Lance.

"I'm your friend? Aw, Keith, I gotta make us BFF bracelets now."

"Shut up and let me talk."

"You didn't say no."

Keith sighed and rolled his eyes. "But I think it would be unfair if we didn't give them a second chance."

Lance fist pumped and Allura nodded.

"Alright," she said, "I'll give them one more chance."

Hunk and Shiro were able to find Pidge sitting outside of the hospital on a bench, hugging his knees to his chest. When he saw them approach, he quickly looked away and rested his head on his knees, refusing to look at them.

"Hey, are you okay?" Hunk asked as he sat on Pidge's right. Shiro sat on the his left.

Pidge sighed. "No, I'm not okay. Just leave me alone."

Shiro and Hunk exchanged a worried glance. Pidge let out a sigh through his nose.

"Pidge, Allura said some hurtful things back there, but you know she didn't mean them," Shiro said.

Pidge laughed. "She definitely meant them, alright. My faulty programming skills almost cost Lance his life. You heard her."

" _Lance_ almost cost himself his life. Not you," Shiro said, putting a hand on Pidge's shoulder. Pidge looked up and saw Shiro's reassuring gaze.

"Yeah, and I helped with the robots, too. We never put in anything about attacking anyone. We're gonna fix it," Hunk added, patting Pidge's back.

"We can't," Pidge replied, his tone somber. "Allura pulled the plug, remember?"

Hunk didn't have an answer for that. Thankfully, Shiro saved him from having to come up with one.

"You can still turn in Rover for that extra credit, right? And I'm sure we can still use them. It was Dial that posed the problem."

Pidge but his lip, thinking. Finally, he half smiled and glanced at both of his friends. They were always there for him when things got too stressful.

"I guess you're right, Shiro. Thanks for coming out here. Both of you."

"What are friends for?" Hunk replied, patting his shoulder before standing up. Shiro lightly squeezed Pidge's other shoulder in a reassuring way and stood up. Pidge followed them back inside.

It seemed that the others were waiting for them when they returned to Lance's hospital room. Pidge was surprised when he caught Allura's apologetic look.

"Pidge, I-" she began, but Pidge cut her off.

"You don't need to apologize about what you said. You were right. I was careless and that made Lance get hurt. I can use Dial's parts for scrap in one of my college assignments. It's okay." He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Just talking about taking apart Dial made him want smash something. He tried not to think about all the care he and Hunk put into making them.

"Actually, Pidge, I do owe you an apology. You're programming skills are some of the best I've ever seen. All of your creations are amazing. I should've never been so hard on you, and for that, I apologize," Allura said.

"Thank you," Pidge mumbled.

"And are you sure you want to use Dial for scrap? I don't think they'd be very useful after that," she added, a small smile on her face.

Pidge's eyes widened. "You mean...?"

"You have one more chance."

Pidge's face lit up. "Thank you so much, Allura! I won't let you down!" He couldn't help but walk over and hug her.

"Oh!" Allura was surprised, but smiled and ruffled his hair, hugging him back. "I know you won't."

"Group hug!" Hunk shouted and joined in. Shiro laughed and went in for a hug as well.

"Aw, guys, c'mon! I can't get up!" Lance whined, throwing his hands in the air. "Keith, go hug them for me!"

"Why would I do anything for you?" Keith retorted, crossing his arms.

"Ugh, Keith! Please!? I have a concussion," Lance said, giving him another pleading look.

Keith sighed in exasperation and went to join in with the group hug. Lance cheered, but stopped when his head started pounding.

"Pidge, you should also thank Lance. He was the one that convinced me to let you both continue," Allura said as they separated.

"Really? But Dial gave you a concussion," Pidge said, turning to Lance.

"Eh, I just don't like seeing children cry. What can I say? I'm a martyr," Lance replied, grinning.

"I'm not a fucking child. There goes your hug."

"Oh, like you were actually gonna hug me."

"I might've until your bullshit remark."

Lance laughed.

"But I do appreciate what you did, so thank you. I mean it," Pidge looked away when he said it.

"No problem. You'll just have to make a robot that's gonna massage my feet every night before bed."

"Pfft! If you're comfortable with asking Dial to do that, then sure."

Everyone laughed when they saw Lance's scared expression.


	4. Chapter 4

Everyone was a bit uneasy at the thought of Dial being brought back sooner rather than later, so Pidge and Hunk decided to finish up their last robot.

They were thicker than Dial and shorter, having two legs and four arms. Their metal was also much darker.

"We ready to bring 'em out to the others?" Hunk asked, watching Pidge check on some wires inside of the robot.

"They look good," he replied, closing the small door on the robot's chest.

Hunk helped Pidge carry the bot out into the living room, where the others were waiting. Lance was laying down on one of the couches, covered in pillows and blankets, while the others sat on the other one. Hunk sat the machine down in front of them.

"You made sure they weren't crazy, right?" Keith asked. Pidge blinked in surprise. He expected Lance to say that, not Keith.

"Yes, we made sure. You're just worried because Lance has been lethargic lately, huh?" Pidge asked, a smug grin on his face.

Keith looked stricken. "What!? No! I'm just worried about everyone's safety."

They all expected Lance to comment, but his eyelids were droopy, and it seemed like he was staring past them instead of at them. Keith worriedly tugged at his lip with his teeth.

"Anyway," Pidge continued, "this is Washy. They're here to help with the laundry. They'll collect clothes, wash and dry them, and put them back."

As Pidge talked, Hunk bent over and pressed a button on the back of Washy. He mumbled a silent prayer as their eyes began to glow brightly.

"Greetings," Washy said, surveying the room. Everyone was deathly silent, not sure what to expect.

They all jumped when they heard Lance snore. A shaky laugh was followed by more silence. Hunk cleared his throat and turned to Washy.

"Washy, put the laundry in the washer," he ordered. Washy blinked, then headed to the laundry basket placed in the living room for this presentation. They squatted and used their bottom set of arms to lift the basket.

"Washy'll know to take both laundry baskets and any clothing laying around," Hunk added.

"We figured Lance would be too lazy to put his clothes in the hamper," Pidge said, adjusting his glasses.

Washy walked over to Lance, and Keith quickly stood up.

"Calm down, Keith. They could just be walking around," Shiro said, laying a hand on the other's arm. Keith stayed standing.

When the bot got right in front of Lance, they used their top set of arms to grab his blanket and drag it off of him.

"What's it doing!?" Keith shouted, taking a few steps towards the machine.

"Maybe Washy thinks the blanket is dirty?" Hunk asked, scratching his head. Pidge shrugged. It didn't seem like Washy was doing any harm. And plus, they didn't even wake up Lance.

After folding the blanket and setting it on top of the basket, Washy set it down on the floor and proceeded to try and take off Lance's shirt.

"You made a pervert robot!?" Keith said, heading over to Washy and grabbing their arm.

"No! Maybe... maybe we need to put stricter code on what laundry is acceptable," Pidge said.

Washy turned to look at Keith. They exchanged a long look, Washy's expressionless and Keith's angry, before Washy moved forward and grabbed Keith's jacket, pulling it halfway off his arms in one swift motion.

Keith yelped and pulled away, wrenching himself from the jacket and falling to the floor. Pidge burst out laughing and Hunk had to stifle a chuckle.

"You did this on purpose!" Keith said, still laying on the floor.

"No, we didn't! I swear! This just happened to be a funny bug is all," Hunk said.

Keith tried to kick the robot when it went groping for his legs. Shiro sighed, an amused expression on his face.

"Alright, guys, we've had enough fun. Turn off the bot and fix them. We don't need a 'pervert robot', as Keith calls it," Shiro said.

"While this is... very amusing, I'd rather not have to worry about them malfunctioning even worse," Allura added, trying to resist a smile.

Pidge walked over to Washy, who was currently struggling with Keith, and powered him down. Keith grumbled to himself and snatched his jacket from the basket, shrugging it on before stalking out of the room.

"He'll be back. He's just sulking because he was beaten by a robot," Shiro said.

"I don't care either way. C'mon, Hunk, let's fix this bug quickly so we can get Washy back in action. Er, laundry action, I mean," Pidge said, turning to look at Hunk. The other helped carry Washy back down to Pidge's room.

"It certainly never is quiet for very long around here," Allura commented, her voice quiet in the now silent room.

Shiro nodded and stood up, taking the blanket from the basket and draping it over Lance's still sleeping form.

"I'm surprised he didn't wake up from that," he said, smiling softly.

"Ah, Lance could sleep through an air raid."

Shiro laughed as he brushed some hair out of Lance's face. He turned and headed toward the hallway, pausing at the entrance.

"That's Lance for you," he said before disappearing down the hallway.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, Washy was bug-free and diligently working on the laundry. Satisfied, Pidge and Hunk fixed up Dial, hoping that the new code they entered would stop Dial from hurting the members of their household.

"I think Dial is ready for another test run," Hunk said, tapping Dial's glass eye. Pidge frowned.

"Are you sure? I don't want anyone to get hurt this time."

"We entered the right codes now. Dial won't hurt anyone living in this house. I think that'll stop any bugs," Hunk said, trying to reassure Pidge.

Pidge slowly nodded. "Okay, let's see how they do putting away the dishes."

A few minutes later, Dial was standing stiffly in the kitchen. Hunk and Pidge were standing on either side of them. Both were a bit hesitant to power Dial on, but finally Pidge pushed the button.

"Here goes nothing," he mumbled as Dial's eyes started to glow yellow. Hunk was crossing his fingers.

Dial looked around the room, their cameras focusing on Pidge and Hunk briefly. They both glanced at each other before Pidge spoke up.

"Dial, put away the dishes," he said. Dial nodded once and turned to the dishwasher, opening it and pulling out the bottom tray. They piled plates onto one of their arms and then straightened up. Hunk and Pidge held their breath when Dial stood still for a moment. Then Dial turned and walked over to the cupboard, opening it in one swift motion and gently setting the plates inside.

Pidge and Hunk gave each other a quick high five, both of them grinning from ear to ear. They were too busy watching Dial to notice Rover rolling into the kitchen.

Dial headed back to the dishwasher. As they walked, Rover headed towards them. Pidge and Hunk finally spotted Rover, but it was too late. Dial took another step and landed right on Rover, smashing the poor Roomba.

"No!" Pidge yelled, falling to his knees in front of Rover as Dial lifted their foot to see what they stepped on.

"Oh man. Oh jeez... It's okay, Pidge. We can fix them," Hunk mumbled, messing with his hair. Pidge didn't reply.

Dial's cameras focused on the crushed form of Rover, and they set their foot down away from it. It backed away a few steps, their cameras still on Rover.

"Oh... no..." Dial said, their voice strangely sounding upset. Pidge and Hunk looked over at them in surprise.

Dial started to whir loudly, and Hunk quickly pulled Pidge to his feet.

"Why are they freaking out?" Hunk asked, panic in his voice.

"We programmed them not to harm the members of this household. That includes Rover," Pidge replied, his eyes never leaving Dial.

Dial then opened the pantry and began to throw stuff everywhere. Pidge and Hunk ducked out of the way.

Anything that was in Dial's reach was thrown to the floor. Canned goods, cereal boxes, ramen packages, and chip bags littered the floor. Most of them were thrown so hard that they broke. Food was all over the tile.

After the pantry contents were strewn about the room, Dial then went to the table and began throwing chairs. They started to let out a weird, high pitched noise from their artificial vocal chords.

"We gotta stop this!" Pidge yelled above Dial's metallic screaming.

"I'm afraid to get close to him," Hunk replied.

"They're not allowed to harm us, remember?" Pidge said as he stood up and picked his way over to Dial, who had already flipped the table and was looking for something else to throw.

"Dial! Stop!" Pidge shouted. Dial turned and focused on Pidge, and their entire body was shaking. But they stopped throwing their fit, at least for the moment.

"Let's take a break, bud," Pidge whispered and reached behind Dial. The robot stood still as Pidge felt for the button on their neck. When Pidge felt it, he pressed down firmly, and Dial was off.

"Holy crap..." Hunk whispered, staring at Pidge and Dial. Pidge turned and gave Hunk a thumbs up and a tired smile.

"Told you we were perfectly safe," he said.


End file.
